


chain you

by verity



Series: tween wolf [48]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Advice, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Magic, Uneasy Allies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-19
Updated: 2013-06-19
Packaged: 2017-12-15 12:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/849564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verity/pseuds/verity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Talia tilted her head, thoughtful. Her belly wasn't rounded yet, but her complexion was bright, her movements centered on her core. "You want us to chain you."</p><p>"I'm not a dog," Alan said.</p><p>"Neither are we," Talia said.</p>
            </blockquote>





	chain you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blue_rocket_frost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_rocket_frost/gifts), [whiskey_in_tea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiskey_in_tea/gifts).



Alan closes the clinic early tonight.

Derek waits on the threshold, honoring the sign. He's antsy, shifting from one foot to the other; Alan lets him stew for fifteen minutes before he unlocks the door. "Come in, Derek," he says. "I've been expecting you."

—

The back is already shut up for the night, the animals back there fed and cared for. Alan takes Derek into his office and leaves the door open behind them, takes a seat behind his desk. That leaves Derek sitting opposite, back to the open door: unease rolls off him in heavy waves, bloody purples and reds. They've barely seen each other since Derek turned 18 and was whisked out from under Alan's aegis.

"Laura doesn't know you're here," Alan says.

Derek nods. "She doesn't—she wouldn't—she doesn't trust you."

"Do you?" Alan says, scooting his chair forward.

"I trust you to protect your own interests," Derek says.

—

When Alan moved to Beacon Hills, Talia was pregnant with Derek's younger sister. She met him on neutral ground outside town. "You're seeking sanctuary," she said, made no preamble about it. "Tell me why I should grant it to you."

The Hales had been in Beacon Hills for a hundred and seventy years, since the town was settled, planted their generations like roots in the soil. It was unsettling to be even this close to the boundaries of their territory, the way they pulsed and pushed at his magic, rejected intruders. "I've surpassed my teachers," Alan said. "That's a dangerous thing, for us."

Talia tilted her head, thoughtful. Her belly wasn't rounded yet, but her complexion was bright, her movements centered on her core. "You want us to chain you."

"I'm not a dog," Alan said.

"Neither are we," Talia said.

The silence stretched between them for a long minute. "I want you to bind me," Alan said, eventually. "There are few packs as tethered to their territory as yours. Living power is the strongest."

"Interesting," she said.

—

Alan isn't tethered now; the binding on him is tenuous at best. He could take the demon inside the Argent girl, if he wanted, let it ride him; he's disciplined enough to control it. There'd be no end to it, though, no purpose and no ceasing. Derek's right not to trust him, but as long as their interests align, they can be allied in this.

"You can bind the girl to you, if your pack's strong enough," he tells Derek. "You can't drive out the demon, but you can give it incentive to depart. If her ability to serve as a vessel is restricted, it will seek a new host."

"You could do that?" Derek says, disbelieving.

Alan shakes his head. "Not me," he says. "You'll need a worker in your pack."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [ladyofthelog](http://ladyofthelog.tumblr.com) on tumblr.


End file.
